Cutting your own can help create some much-needed family time this holiday season

Now that Thanksgiving is in the rearview mirror, many people in the area are turning their attention toward Christmas.

Decorations are going up, gifts are being purchased and families are hauling Christmas trees into their homes to be the centerpiece of the holiday season.

There are a number of different routes you can go with a Christmas tree.

There’s no right or wrong way to do the holiday season, but take a moment to think about your options.

If you’re looking for cheap, it doesn’t get much cheaper than a $5 Christmas tree permit from the U.S. Forest Service, hiking out into the woods and chopping down your own evergreen.

There also are a variety of other options including going to a tree farm to cut your own, retailers that sell Christmas trees at very reasonable prices, and different groups and youth organizations that sell trees for fundraisers.

You might pay a few bucks more for buying a tree from a fundraising group, but you’ll be helping out local students, athletes and community members.

Their hard work and the generosity of the community sets up opportunities they might not otherwise have.

Even if cheap isn’t your top priority, everybody should have the experience of chopping down their own Christmas tree at least once, whether it’s from a tree farm or from the national forest.

Too often we get away from the true purpose of the holidays, which is spending time with family.

In today’s day and age, family time is becoming harder and harder to come by. Parents are always busy working, trying to make ends meet and taking care of hundreds of different responsibilities.

Children, too, are swept up in the whirlwind of sports, school and hanging out with friends.

But the time you spend cutting down your own tree will create lifelong memories.